Thursday, November 24, 2011

No Mas Turkey Cup

By PaulySan Francisco, CA

Circa 1979

Turkey Cup is nevermore. The annual online tournament that I hosted every Thanksgiving will not happen this year as a result of Black Friday. If you were looking to get you're online poker fix, it's not going to happen. Blame the DOJ and the corrupt puppets in DC, who thrust this confusing situation upon poker-loving Americans.

It really pains me that we're not going to have Turkey Cup this year. The mighty contest spawned out of a tradition that I created with my brother. I taught him how to play hold'em one snowy Thanksgiving shortly after 9/11. We played heads-up in his apartment and he quickly picked up the nuances of the game.

When I joined the traveling circus and hit the road with the tournament circuit, I found myself spending less and less time in NYC and away from my brother and family. After I re-located to the West Coast, I wanted to keep the tradition of post-turkey poker. Luckily, PokerStars helped fill the void with a private tournament. Hence, Turkey Cup was born. The tournament grew in popularity, not just among Canadian and British friends, but among friends and readers whom were stuck/trapped in family situations and snuck away for an hour or so to donk it up with the rest of us.

Yeah, it saddens me that I won't be firing up PokerStars tonight to play poker with my brother and friends. I'm hopeful that we'll be able to play again next year on a new site -- pending legislation. Until that day comes when Big Brother allows us to play online poker... the Turkey Cup is on perpetual hiatus.